Instrument procedures (e.g., instrument approach procedures or instrument departure procedures) are used to allow pilots to operate an aircraft without assistance from air traffic control. For example, instrument approach procedures allow a pilot to reliably land an aircraft in situations of reduced visibility or inclement weather by using instruments onboard the aircraft or on the ground, such as radios or other communication systems, navigation systems, localizers, glidescopes, and the like. Published aeronautical charts, such as, for example, Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) charts, Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) charts, or Terminal Arrival Area (TAA) charts Standard Instrument Departure (SID) routes, Departure Procedures (DP), terminal procedures, approach plates, and the like, depict and describe the instrument procedures for various airports, runways, or other landing and/or departure locations are provided by a governmental or regulatory organization, such as, for example, the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. These charts graphically illustrate and describe the specific procedures (e.g., minimum descent altitudes, minimum runway visual range, final course or heading, relevant radio frequencies, missed approach procedures) to be followed or otherwise utilized by a pilot for a particular approach or departure. A pilot maintains copies of these printed charts for the various possible airports that the pilot may encounter during operation of the aircraft. For example, for worldwide operation, there are as many as 17,000 charts, and each airport may include multiple runways with multiple possible approaches and departures.
Typically, in advance of the actual approach or departure, the pilot identifies the airport and reviews the charts for the one or more approaches (or departures) for that airport. Once the pilot determines the approach (or departure) that the pilot intends to fly, the pilot and crew (e.g., the co-pilot) review features of the instrument procedure such that there is sufficient understanding and agreement on how the procedure should be executed based on the chart. Generally, an instrument approach is one of the most critical periods during operation of an aircraft, for example, the pilot may be flying blind or with low visibility and the aircraft may be flying close to ground with the landing system deployed and limited maneuverability. Therefore, it is important that the pilot utilizes the proper information from the chart when executing the instrument approach procedure. However, the printed charts often include a variety of approach procedure information not relevant to the current approach or type of aircraft the pilot is currently operating. For example, the printed charts often include different instrument approach procedure information for different categories of aircraft, or for approaches using different instruments or equipment. If the pilot wants to consult the chart during the approach to ensure the pilot is following the proper procedure, the pilot must not only locate the appropriate chart, but also locate the proper information for the current approach within the chart. As a result, using and maintaining the printed charts can be cumbersome and inconvenient.
Because of the amount of information contained in the printed charts, it is difficult to display them electronically onboard the aircraft. For example, in current electronic cockpit displays, the resolution and physical size of the electronic display limits or prevents the instrument procedure charts to be reproduced or replicated electronically. Furthermore, most of the display area on the electronic display is already utilized or reserved for other processes (e.g., navigational maps, profile views, synthetic vision displays, flight management windows, and the like) and presenting the instrument procedure chart risks interfering with or obfuscating these other processes.